Results 1,701-1,720 of 2,007 for speaker:Máire Devine

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (7 Mar 2017)

Máire Devine: The wealth possessed by the church in this country was built on the back of the sweat and toil of my parents, your parents and our grandparents as well as on the tithe they gave every week to the church. It is time to give it back to the people.

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Mar 2017)

Máire Devine: Well done, Senator Kelleher.

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Mar 2017)

Máire Devine: I echo the remarks of the father of the House about Good Friday; not on religious grounds but to keep it as it is on public health grounds and for workers. I want to raise EU roaming charges and the giant loophole that came to light today which makes a joke of the EU's roaming law. Any people who booked their summer holidays would have been delighted to think they were not going to pay...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Feb 2017)

Máire Devine: Owen Keegan.

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Feb 2017)

Máire Devine: I refer to two important issues that have been raised. The first is the Devine and Resilience Ireland reports which were published earlier. We have not had time to trawl through them in detail but the horrific nature of what happened and the issue of people turning a blind eye to horrific child sexual abuse or sexual abuse of vulnerable adults are evident along with the issue of the...

Seanad: Symphysiotomy Payment Scheme: Statements (Resumed) (22 Feb 2017)

Máire Devine: The Cathaoirleach has the wrong Senator.

Seanad: Symphysiotomy Payment Scheme: Statements (Resumed) (22 Feb 2017)

Máire Devine: It was a senior moment on the part of the Cathaoirleach.

Seanad: Symphysiotomy Payment Scheme: Statements (Resumed) (22 Feb 2017)

Máire Devine: Probably. Symphysiotomy, a word I have difficulty pronouncing, is a barbaric and medieval practice, which was carried out for many years in this State. It is a procedure that women were advised to undergo without knowledge of what it involved. Symphysiotomy is a similar to the spatchcock cooking technique used in the preparation of birds. It involves the use of a chainsaw and was often...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Cybersecurity for Children and Young Adults: Discussion (22 Feb 2017)

Máire Devine: I thank the witnesses for their presentation, which was a little mind-blowing. I agree that we should seriously consider establishing an office for digital safety. The rate of automation will increase in the decades ahead. As everything goes digital, we will need someone to be in a position to offer advice and guidance and develop regulation and policy for this area. Given Tusla's...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Governance and Control Procedures in Tusla - Child and Family Agency: Discussion (22 Feb 2017)

Máire Devine: I welcome the witnesses. We are here to discuss governance issues following the recent high-profile case, which we will not go into. I have several questions. If I am jumping from one topic to another, I ask forgiveness. What is the time taken between Tusla's being informed of an allegation of child sex abuse and the passing on of the information to the Garda, taking into account any...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Governance and Control Procedures in Tusla - Child and Family Agency: Discussion (22 Feb 2017)

Máire Devine: Is the Chairman sure?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Governance and Control Procedures in Tusla - Child and Family Agency: Discussion (22 Feb 2017)

Máire Devine: It is an important question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Governance and Control Procedures in Tusla - Child and Family Agency: Discussion (22 Feb 2017)

Máire Devine: It is not negotiable. In my professional life, I have been reporting to Tusla continually. As public representatives, we receive telephone calls from constituents who have been reported to Tusla by various individuals, such as partners or neighbours. They plead, "They have got it wrong, they have got it wrong, they have got it wrong". Most of us at the other end of the telephone,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Governance and Control Procedures in Tusla - Child and Family Agency: Discussion (22 Feb 2017)

Máire Devine: To err is human. In this regard, I include myself. I will concentrate on my last question, or perhaps my last observation. Tusla's priority is rightly to focus on children currently at risk. It is, however, swamped with historical allegations. Could the witnesses give me some idea of the percentage of staff who are involved in the investigation which needs to be put on the back burner or...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Feb 2017)

Máire Devine: Well said.

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Feb 2017)

Máire Devine: I wish to second Senator Gavan's motion on the Tesco workers. Shame on anybody who does not support it. As regards Senator Leyden's point, the Dublin Mountains were to be sold off by Coillte. As a little reminder his colleague, Bertie Ahern, was involved in that about five years ago. The Children's Rights Alliance launched its 2017 report card this morning as it has done this for the past...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Feb 2017)

Máire Devine: I asked about legislation to provide children whose parents are in receipt of domiciliary care allowance with medical cards.

Seanad: Recent Education Announcements: Statements (21 Feb 2017)

Máire Devine: I thank the Minister for coming to the House today. Having read the plan and the proposals for the education of our children, I also thank him for them. We need much more action to address the chronic underinvestment which currently cripples our education system. In the past, this was known as the land of saints and scholars but hopefully we have lost the saints. For the scholarly,...

Seanad: Recent Education Announcements: Statements (21 Feb 2017)

Máire Devine: Very little.

Seanad: Hospital Waiting Lists: Motion (15 Feb 2017)

Máire Devine: Well said.